


Exit Stage Left

by Kitkatkimble



Series: Little Annoyances [1]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, R is distracting, awkward staring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-23 21:24:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1580012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitkatkimble/pseuds/Kitkatkimble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Courfeyrac is a great friend, but Grantaire is pretty sure that he’s the reason that Enjolras thinks he hates him. Yes, it is totally Courfeyrac’s fault. All of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exit Stage Left

Grantaire should probably stop. 

It’s not like he’s doing it on purpose. It’s just that the buzzer is sitting right _there,_ and Enjolras looks so gorgeously pissed off with each interruption, and sometimes his hand just twitches.

He’s not sure whose idea it was to bring in an old game show buzzer (Courfeyrac), or whose it was to leave it lying in the middle of a table where anyone could press it and wreak havoc (Courfeyrac), or even whose it was to leave it on _that specific table_ (Courfeyrac). Whoever it was must have known that it’s Grantaire’s table, always has been, and that leaving it there would be tantamount to a meeting wasted.

Actually, all things considered, it was definitely Courfeyrac.

Enjolras is talking about something – Grantaire tuned out a while ago, about the time when he noticed the buzzer, funny that – and getting pretty worked up about it, although in Enjolras’ case, worked up means cold and calm and very, very precise. He’s talking almost specifically to Combeferre and Feuilly, and he turns to add remarks to Courfeyrac and Lesgles occasionally. He’s using the word ‘liberty’ an awful lot, as he usually does; Grantaire thinks of getting him a thesaurus for his birthday, but it strikes him that he can’t remember when Enjolras’ birthday is, and even if he could, Enjolras probably dislikes birthdays because it’s something that normal people enjoy.

So, following the simple logic that presents itself, every time Enjolras uses the word ‘liberty’, Grantaire hits the buzzer.

Again, he should probably stop, but reasons.

“Universal human rights are _universal._ Regardless of whether you subscribe to a modernist or post-modernist view, human rights should be the foundation, not the endgame. Liberty – ”

_Buzzzzzzz._

“Oh, for Christ’s sake!” Enjolras throws his hands in the air and glares at the room in general. “For the last time, could whoever is doing that please _stop!_ ”

Courfeyrac gives Grantaire a discreet thumbs up, which he studiously ignores and tries to keep from grinning too hard. Enjolras has already been giving him suspicious looks, and he does _not_ need Courfeyrac giving him away just yet.

“Maybe you should stop saying ‘liberty’?” Lesgles says, because Lesgles is a fun-ruining son of a bitch and Grantaire hates his face.

Enjolras opens his mouth to reply, but Grantaire beats him to it. “But that would be giving in to the oppressor and therefore restricting dear Orestes’ own liberty. Can’t have that, now, can we?”

Lesgles accidentally snorts beer out of his nose as he laughs, and Grantaire smirks.

Enjolras pinches the bridge of his nose and says in diction so sharp it could slice bread, “I am trying to formulate a solid point of view that can be used as a foundation for a speech. If you are only here to wind me up – don’t look so surprised, Grantaire, I have eyes – then do us all a favour and find another venue.”

Obviously, Grantaire doesn’t, because that would be giving in to the oppressor – “Yes, Enjolras, free speech is a thing, and yes, this counts under freedom of expression,” – and isn’t Enjolras always going on about how he should take a few pointers from Les Amis? So he stays, and the buzzer stays, and Enjolras stays irritated.

Amazingly, Grantaire manages to keep Enjolras from actually noticing him pressing the buzzer until about twenty minutes later. Thinking about it, Grantaire is pretty sure Enjolras must have set him up; his eyes are already darting around the room when the word leaves his lips, and the second Grantaire’s hand darts out, Enjolras is glaring at him.

“One moment,” he says, surging up like a giant kraken of righteous fury – okay, so his metaphors need some work, he’s an artist not a writer – and stalking over to where Grantaire is sitting, laughing his arse off. Enjolras seizes his elbow, heave him up, and drags him bodily off to where the door to the back alley leads.

“Careful, wouldn’t want to mar my perfect features,” Grantaire says, sarcasm and wicked humour dripping from the words. Enjolras glares at him but lets go, crossing his arms and taking a step back.

“Why is it so important to you to antagonise me all the time?” he asks, and if Grantaire didn’t know him better, he’d think that the blond looks honestly put out. “I know you don’t believe in anything I have to say, or in my causes, or in me, but could you just have the courtesy of pretending?”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on. I believe in you. I just don’t give two shits for what you’re trying to do, because it’s not going to work, and anyway,” Grantaire adds, “I wasn’t doing it to purposefully spite you. The buzzer was just sitting there, and you kept on going on and on about liberty, and admit it, it was funny. If you have to blame someone, blame Courfeyrac. It was his fault, honest.”

Enjolras looks a bit taken aback. “You… believe in me?”

Grantaire blinks. “That’s what you take out of this? I thought it was obvious. I don’t stick around to piss you off, no matter how gorgeous you look when you’re angry." 

He pauses. He thinks. He registers what just came out of his mouth. Shit.

He goes to correct himself – shut up, he can do it without offending Enjolras or making himself look even worse, he _can_ – but then he looks at Enjolras’ face.

He’s… blushing.

He’s just standing there, blushing red, his hands twitching at his sides and his eyes wide. He doesn’t look angry, or cold, he looks human and young and _fuck he looks adorable._

Shit shit shit abort mission

Except Grantaire can’t quite get his legs to move the way he wants them to. He can’t get them to move at all. It doesn’t look like Enjolras is moving any time soon either, though, so they just end up standing there, staring at each other in silence. It should feel awkward or nervous but, strangely, it doesn’t.

Grantaire isn’t sure how long they spend out there, just staring at each other in a dingy alley, but after what feels like both an hour and a minute simultaneously, Courfeyrac sticks his head out of the doorway.

“Where are – oh, hey. What…” He looks between the two of them then shrugs. “You know what, I’m not even going to ask. Meeting’s over, whenever you two want to head off. Sorry about the buzzer. If it’s any consolation, Lesgles dropped it and it got stepped on, so it’s not working any more. Anyway, see you! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Enjolras shakes himself out of his stupor and blinks at Courfeyrac. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Courfeyrac just grins and darts away, because he’s a bit of a bastard like that.

Enjolras transfers his gaze to Grantaire, who fidgets and smirks. He figures that’s probably the best course of action if he wants to get out of this with at least a scrap of his dignity left.

“You believe in me?”

“Yes, you twit, I thought I’d made that kind of obvious.”

“Oh.” Enjolras smiles, slightly, and the blush dies down just enough so that Grantaire can make out the freckles on his nose. He hates those freckles. They have no right to go around being all freckly. “That’s…”

“Not something up for discussion. At any point. Ever.” Grantaire glances towards the door. “I’m just going to… I have to… I have a thing. Now. Right now. Good night.”

He doesn’t flee. Fleeing implies a lack of control over the situation. He just… walks briskly towards the exit and avoids contemplating his problems.

He should probably stop doing that.


End file.
